cameras

Interrogation camera in a coffee mug

It may seem surprising, but it's not often that Crave gets to write about an item with this kind of description in its product literature: "Great for use in interrogation rooms for law enforcement agencies."

We'll have to take StarTech Outlet's word for it, as that's how the site describes its "2.4GHz Coffee Mug Wireless Camera." In fact, with a name like that, there's really not a whole lot more that needs to be said.

The mug is outfitted with a minuscule camera and video transmitter that sends images in … Read more

New pair of Pentaxes

Pentax very quietly announced two new cameras late yesterday. The first, an 8MP model called the Optio Z10, marks new territory for Pentax with a sliding lens cover that moves sideways and, like the sliding covers on Sony cameras, turns the camera on and off. Sony often gets credit for the sliding lens cover design in digital cameras, but many compact film cameras incorporated sliding lens covers years before Sony started using them in its digital cameras.

While those film cameras often had mechanical issues due to their extending zoom lenses, this Pentax has an internally zooming refraction lens. The … Read more

Nikon goes full frame with D3

The rumors have been fierce--and some of them have been true--yet now Nikon has made it official. Their new weather-sealed, top-of-the-line dSLR, the 12.2MP D3, will have a full frame CMOS image sensor, which Nikon has dubbed the FX format. Well...OK, it's almost a full-frame sensor. It measures 36mm by 23.9mm; just 0.1mm vertically shy (does that make it vertically challenged?) of the technical full-frame spec, but we'll let that slide. I know that any Nikon owners with DX lenses must be reeling right about now, so it pays to mention that the D3 … Read more

Nikon D300, a DX format powerhouse

Just in case the announcement of the pro-level D3 isn't enough for you, Nikon has also announced a big brother for its D200 called the D300. The D300 will sport a 12.3MP DX format (24x16mm) CMOS sensor, 3-inch 920,000-dot (307,000-pixel) LCD, and sensitivity of ISO 200 to ISO 3,200 with a Hi-1 mode that extends that to an equivalent to ISO 6,400 and a Lo-1 mode that extends down to ISO 100. Many of the D300's features are the same as the ones found in the D3. For example, the D300 has the … Read more

Nikon strengthens pro lens lineup

With Nikon's two new high-end SLRs announced today, it makes sense that the company would want to update its pro lenses to go along--and Nikon has delivered, with five new pro lenses covering a wide range of focal lengths. All of these new lenses include Nikon's new Nano Crystal Coating to minimize internal lens reflections, indicated by a badge with a prominent N on the lens, as well as Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) glass elements to cut down on chromatic aberration. Plus, all five lenses will hit stores this November, just in time for the new SLRs. Let's … Read more

Olympus upgrades its 18x zoom camera with the SP-560UZ

Earlier this year, we reviewed the Olympus SP-550UZ. That EVF camera packed the biggest lens (28 to 504mm-equivalent) we ever saw on a non-SLR camera. Unfortunately, extremely slow performance and soft images held the otherwise impressive device back. Now Olympus is trying again with the SP-560UZ, a new 18x EVF camera that will hopefully fix the SP-550UZ's flaws.

The SP-560UZ keeps its predecessor's 28 to 504mm-equivalent 18x lens and mechanical image stabilization, but includes a new sensor, a new image processor, and offers some new features over the SP-550. The new camera uses an 8-megapixel sensor and Olympus' … Read more

Olympus' new Stylus cameras: waterproof, 12MP, and more (but not all at once)

Olympus is updating its entire weatherproof, fashion-minded Stylus line of digital cameras with four new models: the Stylus 790 SW, 820, 830, and 1200. These different cameras run the gamut from super-durable to high-resolution, with a few stops in between.

The Olympus Stylus 790 SW replaces the 770 SW as the company's go-anywhere, super-sturdy snapshot camera. Like its older brother, the 790 SW can handle the horrors of water, extreme temperatures, and clumsy people. It can handle getting submerged in up to ten feet of water, frozen in temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and dropped from heights … Read more

Simply 12 megapixels and other cameras: Olympus' new FE models

'Tis the season for new camera announcements, it seems. Olympus has joined Canon, Nikon, and Sony in picking this week to announce its fall camera lineup. Olympus announced several new camera models today, including three additions to the company's FE-series of simple point-and-shoots.

At 12 megapixels, the FE-300 breaks the company's FE-series' resolution record. With a 50% increase over the last generation's high-resolution model, the FE-250, the FE-300 offers some of the largest photos available from Olympus' snapshot line. According to Olympus, the FE-300 will be the slimmest 12-megapixel camera on the market, measuring just 0.9 … Read more

Sony's midrange megazoom

Suddenly, it seems that compact, inexpensive megazooms without an eye-level viewfinder are all the rage. Canon just announced its first foray at the $300 price point, the PowerShot SX100, and now Sony follows suit with the Cyber-shot DSC-H3.

The H3 will offer the usual set of buzzword features, including face detection and HD downconversion for correct-aspect HDTV output.

Sony rated performance specs:

Startup: 1.8 secs Shutter lag: 0.3 secs Shot to shot: 1.3 secs Burst: 2fps Battery life: 330 shot   Canon SX100 IS Sony DSC-H3 Sony DSC-H7 Resolution 8 megapixels 8 megapixels 8 megapixels Lens f/… Read more